"From my perspective as a medievalist, it's not surprising that popes can resign, " he says.

CNN: From pope to politician, when do you know it's time to go?

James Simpson, a medievalist at Harvard University, says the publication marks an important moment for his community.

WSJ: A Fresh, Frisky Look at Medieval Times

And it's not a contemporary historian you need, like me, David, but a medievalist, because it's all about courts.

BBC

The works had a cult status among medievalist scholars, and the poems occasionally showed up in anthologies throughout the years.

WSJ: A Fresh, Frisky Look at Medieval Times

He was told that Ms. Reist's father had been a medievalist and comparative literature professor at Columbia, and that his daughter and Ms. Reist had been best friends since they attended kindergarten at the Chapin School.

WSJ: Step by Step to Love